PA - Majority of minors engage in Sexting, unaware of harsh legal consequences

Original Article

06/18/2014

Sexting among youth is more prevalent than previously thought, according to a new study from Drexel University that was based on a survey of undergraduate students at a large northeastern university. More than 50 percent of those surveyed reported that they had exchanged sexually explicit text messages, with or without photographic images, as minors.

The study also found that the majority of young people are not aware of the legal ramifications of underage sexting. In fact, most respondents were unaware that many jurisdictions consider sexting among minors – particularly when it involves harassment or other aggravating factors – to be child pornography, a prosecutable offense. Convictions of these offenses carry steep punishments, including jail time and sex offender registration.

“This is a scary and disturbing combination,” said researcher David DeMatteo, JD, PhD. “Given the harsh legal penalties sometimes associated with youth sexting and the apparent frequency with which youth are engaging in it, the lack of comprehension regarding such penalties poses a significant problem.”

The study, entitled “Youth Sexting: Prevalence Rates, Driving Motivations, and the Deterrent Effect of Legal Consequences,” was published online in June 2014 by the journal entitled Sexuality Research and Social Policy. The full article is available here.

In addition to DeMatteo, an associate professor of psychology and law and director of Drexel’s joint JD/PhD program in psychology and law in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Law, the study was conducted by lead author Heidi Strohmaier, a PhD candidate in psychology, and Megan Murphy, a JD/PhD candidate. For a Q+A with the researchers, click here.

The study, in which undergraduate students from a large northeastern university completed an anonymous online survey concerning their engagement in sexting as minors, revealed a significant relationship between awareness of legal consequences and sexting behavior as minors.

Those who were aware of the potential legal consequences reported sexting as a minor significantly less than those who were not aware of the legal consequences. Additionally, most respondents who reported being unaware of the potential legal consequences of sexting expressed the belief that they may have been deterred from sexting as a minor if they had known.

The finding that legal consequences may deter youth from sexting has important policy implications, according to the researchers.

In many jurisdictions, the law has yet to catch up with youth sexting behavior and technological advances. Until recently, most states did not have a legal mechanism in place to handle cases of teenage sexting. Instead, they were required to fit this new teenage subculture into the existing legal framework. As a result, youth sexting was often subsumed under laws governing serious child pornography and child exploitation offenses. Convictions of these offenses carry steep punishments, including jail time and sex offender registration—punishments that many lawyers and legislatures have deemed too harsh for adolescent sexting.

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IL - Teens and the Sex Offender Registry – No Good Outcomes for Anyone

George Timberlake

Original Article

02/04/2014

By George Timberlake

Last week, I hailed a taxi in Washington, D C, and asked the driver to take me to the Keck Building for a meeting with a committee of the National Research Council. The cabby recognized the address and asked if I was a scientist. I explained that I am a retired judge and that applying science and research to juvenile court could make us all safer, save taxpayer dollars and improve the futures of kids in the justice system. He said, “That makes sense but just how can that happen?”

The day before, the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission (IJJC), which I chair, released its nearly two-yearlong study entitled “Improving Illinois’ Response to Sexual Offenses Committed by Youth” (PDF). So, I used it as an example. We found that the number of sexual offenders in our juvenile justice system is very small — 232 arrests in 2010 — and 50 percent of those kids were 14 years old or younger.

The offenses charged were the alleged result of a very wide range of behavior from inappropriate exposure to touching or fondling to sexual penetration. Furthermore, national and Illinois studies reveal that the vast majority of these youth have not acted in response to a deviant sexual arousal or a focused intent to harm others. The victims in the majority of these cases are family members or persons known to the youth.

I continued my “taxi-ride speech” by re-counting the study’s findings that these kids very rarely commit another sex offense and that individually structured treatment is extraordinarily effective. Finally, the study concluded that sex offender registries for juveniles do not increase public safety and often interfere with positive outcomes for both victims and offenders. The report recommends that Illinois’ categorical registry requirements of 10 years to life should be abolished.
- The same applies for adult registrants.  They have a low recidivism rate and have the same issues with housing, employment, etc.

The cabbie asked several pertinent questions, and I told him about adolescent brain development: that kids lack the ability to exercise impulse control, to think of consequences and follow the best course of action. Teenagers are extraordinarily subject to peer influence and genuinely cannot make moral judgments to dictate their behavior. They cannot assess risks, consider future consequences, evaluate rewards and punishments nor react to positive and negative feedback.

He said that he understood how the findings lead to the conclusion about registries. Perhaps because he was a black man in his 60s, he was in a better position than most in realizing that law and practice do not always create justice and public safety.

In the week prior to my D.C. taxi ride, I met with many interested parties to preview the IJJC’s report. While meeting with a former prosecutor, I explained that our report revealed that treatment is effective if it is based on adequate assessment of a youth’s risk of re-offending with a validated assessment tool such as JSOAP or ERASOR. The treatment should be community-based, family-focused evidence-informed and attentive to the needs of the victims and their families while promoting offender accountability. For those few high-risk kids, intensive, specialized and sometimes residential treatment should be available and utilized.

The report recommends training for all juvenile justice system stakeholders; developing adequate and informed standards for sex offender risk assessment; creating a qualification method for treatment professionals and establishing case-planning methods for all those court personnel who deal with youth who have sexually offended.

Finally, based upon low re-offending rates and victim and offender therapists’ agreement that sex offense stigma interferes with successfully treating their clients, the IJJC recommends removing young people from the state’s counter-productive sex offender registry.
- As said above, the same applies to adult registrants as well.

That last recommendation caused the ex-prosecutor to comment and question. He understood the findings from his career in the justice system — the few sex offense cases in a prosecutor or judge’s career make a strong impression and they usually involve a very young offender in a family, peer or neighborhood situation. He had no knowledge of caseload numbers, recidivism rates or treatment effectiveness but was unwilling to abandon registration. As with many court professionals and the public, he believed that registries somehow make us safer.
- We don't think that's reality.  It's called self-preservation!  If one stands up for today's modern day leper and scapegoat, it could ruin their career and reputation!

The contention that registration can somehow prevent future sex crimes simply is not supported by evidence. On the contrary, we found that registries and their requirements can damage the futures of victims and offenders. If the principle of “Do No Harm” applies to the justice system, we must find common ground to protect public safety, exercise fiscal responsibility and create positive outcomes for victims and offenders.

My cab driver understands that. Now, we just have to convince our elected representatives.

CO - Inside the life of a registered sex offender

Original Article

02/23/2014

By Kevin Torres

DENVER - According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, there are currently more than 10,000 registered sex offenders living in Colorado. Chances are some of them live in your community.

9NEWS was given a rare look at what life is like for a registered sex offender years after they committed their crime.

"August 16th of 2006... I was arrested for chatting online with an undercover officer... I thought this person was a 13-year-old girl," said Brent (we are not using Brent's last name due to privacy), a registered sex offender.

On that warm August day, Brent found himself surrounded by officers inside his high paying job at Lockheed Martin. From that moment forward he would be labeled a sex offender and lose every ounce of freedom.

"I was charged with criminal intent of sexual assault on a child," said Brent.

"I was just shocked. I don't know what else to say. I cried," Brent's wife Amanda replied.

In the months that followed, Amanda would learn more about her husband's problem. It turns out Brent had been battling his demons for years. In 2003, Brent says, he tried chatting with an underage girl online but got cold feet and backed away. Stressed by this information, Amanda nearly walked away from Brent... But ultimately, she stayed.

"I let him back in the home but that didn't mean I wasn't watching every move he made or made sure this is something I wanted in my life. And it took me a lot of prayer and a lot of support," said Amanda.

The years that followed would prove to be more difficult. Employers wouldn't consider Brent, neighbors turned on him and bills piled up. .

No work, no money, few friends. Yet, Brent pushed forward as he was determined to convince people he had changed.

"It doesn't matter if you can please yourself. Because the public thinks you're a scum bag. And that's what really matters," said Dr. Max Wachtell, 9NEWS Psychologist.

Wachtell has studied sex offenders and says public perception is hard to change. Even though Wachtell says repeat occurrences are considered low among people in Brent's position, the average person will still have a negative outlook on him.

"Sex offenders who feel like they've gone through a ton of treatment, feel like they're a completely different person - their families think they've changed - society isn't going to see that. Society is going to see that person as a sex offender. And that's the box that person is going to be in the rest of their life," said Dr. Wachtell.

The legal sentence Brent received pales in comparison to the personal sentence he deals with every day; which is why Brent is placing a lot of his efforts in a sex offender therapy group geared at helping people coping with situations similar to his.

"God just gave us peace," said Brent.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation studies the state's sex offender population closely. Here is a list of facts they've gathered:

• There are currently 10,096-registered sex offenders in Colorado, as of June 2, 2008.
• Approximately 60% of convicted sex offenders in Colorado are sentenced to community placement (probation, parole, or community corrections) with the remainder being sentenced to incarceration at the Department of Corrections or the county jail (Colorado State Court Administrator's Office, 2003).
• As of June 2008, there are currently 457 Sexually Violent Predators in Colorado. Of these, 364 are currently incarcerated in the Department of Corrections and 93 are listed on the Colorado Sex Offender Registration web site. (Not all SVP's who are incarcerated are posted on the web site. As an SVP is released from prison to live in the community, they will be posted to the Web site).
• A 1998 study by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found:
• 1 in 150 women and 1 in 830 men in Colorado had experienced a completed or attempted sexual assault in the past 12 months;
• Approximately 16% of these assaults were reported to police;
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 17 men in Colorado had experienced a completed or attempted sexual assault in their lifetime (Colorado Department of Health, 1998).

FL - "Brothers Under the Bridge": Factors Influencing the Transience of Registered Sex Offenders in Florida

Julia Tuttle Causeway

Original Article

02/04/2014

Kelly M. Socia
Jill S. Levenson
Alissa R. Ackerman
Andrew J. Harris

Abstract:
The transience of registered sex offenders (RSOs) is a major impediment to reentry success, particularly because it has been linked to increased absconding and recidivism, and thus decreased community safety. Unfortunately, there is limited existing research on what factors most influence this transience. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore the relative influence of factors predicting transience for RSOs. Using data gathered from the Florida sex offender registry and multiple supplemental state and federal data sources, the analysis revealed a number of county- and individual-level characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of RSO transience. At the county level, these include residence restriction coverage, housing affordability, and population density. At the individual level, these include age, minority status, victim type (minor vs. adult), risk level, supervision status, and prior failure to register convictions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.